1. Field of the Invention p The present invention relates to a honeycomb structure. More specifically, the invention relates to a honeycomb structure which can be used as a catalyst carrier for loading an exhaust gas purifying catalyst.
2. Description of the Related Art
Exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion engine such as an engine of an automobile contain harmful substances such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and nitrogen oxide (NOx). At the time of reducing such harmful substances and purifying exhaust gases, catalytic reaction is widely used. In this catalytic reaction, harmful substances such as carbon monoxide (CO) can be converted into harmless substances by a simple means for bringing an exhaust gas into contact with a catalyst. Therefore, in an automobile or the like, exhaust gases are purified by providing a catalyst in an exhaust system from an engine or the like.
When a catalyst is provided in an exhaust system of an automobile or the like, a honeycomb catalytic body formed by loading a catalyst in partition walls of a honeycomb structure is used. In the honeycomb catalytic body, a honeycomb-shaped structure (a honeycomb structure) is formed by the partition walls and an exhaust gas flows into each of a plurality of cells surrounded by the partition walls. In the honeycomb catalytic body, since the total surface area of the partition walls forming the honeycomb structure becomes larger, frequency of contact between the catalyst loaded on the partition walls and the exhaust gas is high. For this reason, according to the honeycomb catalytic body, high exhaust gas purification effect can be realized (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In recent years, a request level of exhaust gas regulation becomes higher, and thus in order to meet this request level, there is a tendency that an amount of the catalyst to be loaded is increased.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2011-194342
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2013-053594